Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza (158622 September 1644) was a Spanish

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Biography

Hurtado was born in

Castro Urdiales Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the Bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, date ...

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

. He became page to the count de Saldaña (son of the duke de Lerma), and was recognized as a rising poet by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

in the ''Viaje del Parnaso'' (1614). He rose rapidly into favor under

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

, who appointed him private secretary, commissioned from him ''comedias palaciegas'' for the royal theatre at

Aranjuez Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...

, and in 1623 conferred on him the orders of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and Calatrava. Most of his contemporaries and rivals paid court to ''el discreto de palacio'', and Mendoza seems to have lived on the friendliest terms with all his brother dramatists except

Ruiz de Alarcón Ruiz de Alarcón is a Spanish noble name. The name Alarcón was first given to Ferrán Martínez de Ceballos by Alfonso VIII of Castile after the former had successfully driven the Moors from the fortress of Alarcón near Cuenca in 1177. His son's ...

. He is said to have been involved in the fall of Olivares, and died unexpectedly at

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

on 19 September 1644. His theatrical works include numerous entremés works. Only one of his plays, ''Querer por solo querer'', was published with his consent; it is included in a volume (1623) containing his semi-official account of the performances at Aranjuez in 1622. The best edition of Mendoza's plays and verses bears the title of ''Obras liricas y comicas, divinas y humanas'' (1728). Much of his work does not rise above the level of graceful and accomplished verse; but that he had higher qualities is shown by ''El marido hace mujer'', a brilliant comedy of manners, which forms the chief source of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''École des maris''. The ''Fiesta que se hizo en Aranjuez'' and ''Querer por solo querer'' were translated into English by Sir Richard Fanshawe, afterwards ambassador at

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, in a posthumous volume published in 1671.

Works

Poetry

*''Convocatoria de las cortes de Castilla'' *''Vida de Nuestra Señora'' *''La guerra''

Theatre

*''Amor con amor se paga'' *''El marido hace mujer y el trato muda costumbre'' (1631–32) *''Cada loco con su tema o el montañés indiano'' (1630) *''No hay amor donde no hay agravio'' *''Los empeños del mentir '' *''Más merece quien más ama'' (after 1634) *''Querer por solo querer'' *''Ni callarlo ni decirlo'' *''Los empeños del mentir ''(written with Francisco de Quevedo) *''Quien más miente, más medra'' (written with Francisco de Quevedo in 1631)

Entremés

*''Famoso Entremés Getafe'' *''El Ingenioso Entremés del Examinador Miser Palomo''

References

External links

Works by Antonio Hurtado de Mendoza
at Domínio Público 1586 births 1644 deaths People from Castro Urdiales Writers from Cantabria Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights {{Spain-writer-stub